I. Field
The following description relates generally to communication systems and more particularly to handovers between access routers.
II. Background
Communication systems can include a multitude of access nodes through which end nodes (e.g., mobile devices) are coupled to a network. End nodes typically communicate with access nodes (e.g., access router) directly through established connections. Such communication systems rely on a bidirectional communications link between the end node and the access node to support two-way communication between the nodes. In such systems, the end node may not know the network layer address of a target destination access node but may be aware of information it can receive over broadcast channels, which can include physical layer identifiers that are normally not utilized for message routing. This approach results in handoff delays and packet loss when the end node is only able to maintain a single bidirectional communications link at a time.
Access nodes that are serving neighboring geographic cells might be known to each other through manual configuration during which various parameters are configured in an access node corresponding to several of its neighbors. Such configuration can be labor intensive and error prone due to human error and the fact that the network layout of a wireless can change due to network expansion, gradual phased deployment of a system, or even environmental conditions.
In communication systems, it is desirable to provide uninterrupted service when the end node moves between neighboring geographic cells. Such transfer is important for critical data (e.g., voice data) since an interruption can result in quality degradation or dropped voice communications.
To overcome the aforementioned as well as other deficiencies, there is a need to support handovers from a current access node to a target access node where an end node cannot communicate directly with the target access node and is forced to communicate with the target access node through the current access node.